Vitamin D, Vitamin D3

Updated July 1, 2022

Vitamin D is sometimes referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because our bodies synthesize vitamin D when our skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun. It is also categorized as a fat-soluble vitamin because it is found in a few fatty foods, including fish liver oil, beef liver, and egg yolks.

More accurately, however, vitamin D should be categorized as a hormone. Vitamin D has activity in most cells of the human body. It increases our ability to absorb calcium, assists in fighting infections, and even improves mood.[i] Vitamin D is also one of the most effective natural treatments for insomnia and can help people fall asleep if taken at night. Deficiency of vitamin D is linked to osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and at least 16 forms of cancer.[ii]

Everybody absorbs vitamin D from foods and synthesizes it from the sun at different rates. One person might take 4000 IU of vitamin D every day yet have a lower blood level than a person who takes none. Because of this, the best way to determine vitamin D status is with a simple blood test. The Endocrine Society recommended in 2011 a target level of vitamin D in the blood of greater than 30 ng/mL, but other studies suggest that optimal levels should be higher than that. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease, for example, those with blood levels of vitamin D greater than 50 ng/mL consistently had the highest health-related quality of life.[iii] Achieving these levels often requires taking supplemental vitamin D at relatively high doses.

 Vitamin D is best absorbed when it is delivered in a fatty acid base. We recommend vitamin D products that are delivered in a base of non-GMO extra virgin olive oil. These products are absorbed almost 3 times better than typical vitamin D supplements.

I had a patient with migraine headaches who improved 70% with our protocols, and we were trying to figure out why she wasn’t even better. When we discovered that her vitamin D was in a base of corn oil, we switched her to a more pure source of vitamin D and her improvement jumped to near 100%. A higher quality vitamin made all the difference.

References:

[i] Shaffer JA, Edmondson D, Wasson LT, et al. Vitamin D supplementation for depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychosom Med. 2014;76(3):190-196.

[ii] Wranicz J, Szostak-Węgierek D. Health outcomes of vitamin D. Part II. Role in prevention of diseases. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2014;65(4):273-279.

[iii] Hlavaty T, Krajcovicova A, Koller T, et al. Higher vitamin D serum concentration increases health related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20(42):15787-15796.